Mineralogy, petrography, and biostratigraphy of the Lower Eocene succession at Gebel El-Qurn, West Luxor, Southern Egypt

The widely exposed siliciclastic/carbonate succession exposed at Gebel El-Qurn, west Luxor, has been investigated from the mineralogical, petrographical and biostratigraphical points of view. The succession belongs to the lower Eocene, including the upper Esna Shale and the Thebes Formations that have been deposited under varied marine conditions and during alternating periods of abundant and ceased clastic influx. They contain abundant and well-diversified planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannoplankton, suggesting deposition in open marine inner to middle shelf environments. Mineralogical analysis carried out by XRD revealed the presence of smectite, illite, kaolinite, sepiolite, palygorskite, and smectite–illite-mixed layer as the principal clay minerals, and calcite, dolomite, quartz, anhydrite, gypsum, hematite, and goethite as non-clay minerals. The clay mineral distributions in the sediments reflect the climatic conditions and the weathering processes at the source area as well as the differential hydraulic sorting during transportation. Calcite is the most abundant non-clay mineral, and this is consistent with high calcareous fossil content of the sediments. Petrographic examination of the carbonate lithologies within the succession enables to identify eight microfacies associations. These microfacies were affected by several diagenetic processes including; micritization, compaction, cementation, neomorphism, dissolution, dolomitization, and silicification. Dissolution of original test wall and replacement and infilling by iron oxides and recrystallized calcite were commonly observed. Calcareous nannofossils are generally common to frequent, highly diversified, and moderately to well preserved. Two calcareous nannofossil biozones; Tribrachiatus contortus Zone (NP10) and Discoaster binodosus (NP11) are recorded in the studied sediments suggesting lower Eocene age. Their associated nannofossil taxa are characterized by the predominance of warm water species. Sea-level fluctuations, basin physiography, climate, paleogeography, and sediment supply were the major controls on the deposition of the lower Eocene sediments at Gebel El-Qurn.     

Impact of the equatorial Atlantic sea surface temperature on the tropical Pacific in a CGCM

Many coupled general circulation models (CGCMs) suffer from serious model bias in the zonal gradient of sea surface temperature (SST) in the equatorial Atlantic. The bias of the equatorial Atlantic SST (EASST) may affect the interannual variability of the equatorial Atlantic, which in turn may influence the state of the tropical Pacific. In this paper we investigate the impact of the bias and the interannual variability of the EASST on the tropical Pacific in a CGCM. To determine the impact of the interannual variability of the EASST on the tropical Pacific, we compare a run in a fully coupled mode (CTL run) and a run in which the EASST is nudged toward the climatological monthly mean of the SST in the CTL run, but full air-sea coupling is allowed elsewhere (AT_m run). We find that, when the interannual variability of the EASST is excluded, the thermocline depth in the eastern equatorial Pacific is deepened, and the amplitude of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation is reduced by 30 % compared to the CTL run. The impact of the bias of the EASST on the tropical Pacific is investigated by comparing the AT_m run and a run in which the EASST is nudged toward the observed climatological monthly mean SST (AT_o run). It is found that, when the bias of the EASST is removed (i.e. AT_o run), the Gill–Matsuno type response to the warm SST anomalies in the western equatorial Atlantic induces low-level cyclonic anomalies in the eastern South Pacific, which leads to a deeper thermocline and colder SST in the South Pacific as compared to AT_m. The colder SST in the South Pacific reduces the precipitation along the South Pacific convergence zone. Our results of the model experiments demonstrate the importance of the EASST to the tropical Pacific climate.     

Assessment of digital camera-derived vegetation indices in quantitative monitoring of seasonal rice growth

A commercially available digital camera can be used in a low-cost automatic observation system for monitoring crop growth change in open-air fields. We developed a prototype Crop Phenology Recording System (CPRS) for monitoring rice growth, but the ready-made waterproof cases that we used produced shadows on the images. After modifying the waterproof cases, we repeated the fixed-point camera observations to clarify questions regarding digital camera-derived vegetation indices (VIs), namely, the visible atmospherically resistant index (VARI) based on daytime normal color images (RGB image) and the nighttime relative brightness index (NRBI_NIR) based on nighttime near infrared (NIR) images. We also took frequent measurements of agronomic data such as plant length, leaf area index (LAI), and aboveground dry matter weight to gain a detailed understanding of the temporal relationship between the VIs and the biophysical parameters of rice. In addition, we conducted another nighttime outdoor experiment to establish the link between NRBI_NIR and camera-to-object distance. The study produced the following findings. (1) The customized waterproof cases succeeded in preventing large shadows from being cast, especially on nighttime images, and it was confirmed that the brightness of the nighttime NIR images had spatial heterogeneity when a point light source (flashlight) was used, in contrast to the daytime RGB images. (2) The additional experiment using a forklift showed that both the ISO sensitivity and the calibrated digital number of the NIR (cDN_NIR) had significant effects on the sensitivity of NRBI_NIR to the camera-to-object distance. (3) Detailed measurements of a reproductive stem were collected to investigate the connection between the morphological feature change caused by the panicle sagging process and the downtrend in NRBI_NIR during the reproductive stages. However, these agronomic data were not completely in accord with NRBI_NIR in terms of the temporal pattern. (4) The time-series data for the LAI, plant length, and aboveground dry matter weight could be well approximated by a sigmoid curve based on NRBI_NIR and VARI. The results confirmed that NRBI_NIR was more sensitive to all of the agronomic data for overall season, including the early reproductive stages. VARI had an especially high correlation with LAI, unless yellow panicles appeared in the field of view.     

On sexual dimorphism in Paleoparadoxia tabatai

Abstract Upon studying the well preserved skulls referred to Paleoparadoxia tabatai from Japan, the short and low skull of the Yanagawa specimen requires an explanation. Six cranial and dental characters lead us to suggest that the Yanagawa individual is a female while the Izumi, Ohnohara, and Itsukaichi skulls are male. The important characters in the Yanagawa skull are its shortness and shallow depth, less pronounced sagittal and nuchal crests, smaller zygoma, and the small dentition with especially poorly erupted canines, most of which are indicative of weak masticatory musculature.     

Locally-induced nonlinear modes and multiple equilibria in planetary fluids

It is demonstrated that nonlinear Rossby modes, such as modons and IG eddies, can be excited in planetary fluids by a sufficiently strong forcing of potential vorticity. When a weak forcing is balanced with a weak dissipation, two (linear and nonlinear) equilibrium states can be produced, depending on the initial condition. When the fluid is inviscid, a sufficiently strong steady forcing may generate a sequence of propagating nonlinear eddies. A weak forcing, by contrast, only generates linear Rossby waves. The criterion which divides the high amplitude nonlinear state and the low amplitude linear state may be interpreted in terms of a ratio of a time necessary to force the eddy to a time for a fluid particle to circulate about the nonlinear eddy once.     

Identification of the fronts from the Kuroshio Extension to the Subarctic Current using absolute dynamic topographies in satellite altimetry products

The climatologies and variabilities of the fronts associated with the Kuroshio Extension (KE), the Kuroshio Extension Northern Branch (KENB), the flow along the Subarctic Boundary (SAB), and the Subarctic Current (SAC) are identified by a new method based on the absolute dynamic height product from the archiving, validation, and interpretation of satellite oceanographic data (the AVISO product). The fronts are detected by examining the specific contour values of the absolute dynamic topography (ADT) in the AVISO product. The (time-varying) specific contour values are decided from the local maxima of the averaged surface geostrophic velocity along the ADT. Assuming the specific contours as the front locations, we obtain an occurrence frequency map of the four front locations, and determine the monthly variability of the fronts over the 1993–2015 period. The results are validated by hydrographic observations. The KE and KENB east of the Shatsky Rise migrate southward several times at a speed of ~ 0.2 cm s^?1, while the SAB and SAC are mostly stationary.     

Development of a new operational system for monitoring and forecasting coastal and open-ocean states around Japan

We developed a new system to monitor and forecast coastal and open-ocean states around Japan for operational use by the Japan Meteorological Agency. The system consists of an eddy-resolving analysis model based on four-dimensional variational assimilation and a high (2-km) resolution forecast model covering Japanese coastal areas that incorporates an initialization scheme with temporal and spatial filtering. Assimilation and forecast experiments were performed for 2008 to 2017, and the results were validated against various observation datasets. The assimilation results captured well the observed variability in sea surface temperature, coastal sea level, volume transport, and sea ice. Furthermore, the volume budget for the Japan Sea was significantly improved by the use of the 2-km resolution forecast model compared with the 10-km resolution analysis model. The forecast results indicate that this system has a predictive limit longer than 1 month in many areas, including in the Kuroshio current area south of Japan and the southern Japan Sea. In the forecast results of case studies, the 2017 Kuroshio large meander was well predicted, and warm water intrusions accompanying Kuroshio path variations south of Japan were also successfully reproduced. Sea ice forecasts for the Sea of Okhotsk largely captured the evolution of sea ice in late winter, but sea ice in early winter included relatively large errors. This system has high potential to meet operational requirements for monitoring and forecasting ocean phenomena at both meso- and coastal scales.

     

26Al–26Mg chronology of high-temperature condensate hibonite in a fine-grained,Ca-Al-rich inclusion from reduced CV chondrite

Al–Mg mineral isochron studies using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) have revealed the initial ²⁶Al/²⁷Al ratios, (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀, for individual Ca-Al-rich inclusions (CAIs) in meteorites. We find that the relative sensitivity factors of ²⁷Al/²⁴Mg ratio for SIMS analysis of hibonite, one of the major constituent minerals of CAIs, exhibit variations based on their chemical compositions. This underscores the critical need for using appropriate hibonite standards to obtain accurate Al−Mg data. We measured the Al−Mg mineral isochron for hibonite in a fine-grained CAI (FGI) from the Northwest Africa 8613 reduced CV chondrite by SIMS using synthesized hibonite standards with ²⁷Al/²⁴Mg of ~30, ~100, and ~400. The obtained mineral isochron of hibonite in the FGI yields (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀ of (4.73 ± 0.09) × 10⁻⁵, which is identical to that previously obtained from the mineral isochron of spinel and melilite in the same FGI (Kawasaki et al., 2020). The uncertainties of (²⁶Al/²⁷Al)₀ indicate that the constituent minerals in the FGI formed within ~0.02 Myr in the earliest solar system. The disequilibrium O-isotope distributions of the minerals in the FGI suggest that the O-isotope compositions of the nebular gas from which they condensed underwent a transitional change from ¹⁶O-rich to ¹⁶O-poor within ~0.02 Myr in the earliest solar system. Once formed, the FGI may have been removed from the forming region within ~0.02 Myr and transported to the accretion region of the parent body.     

Altitude variation of ultraviolet oxygen night airglow

Night airglow of oxygen 130.4 and 135.6 nm emissions was measured by a spectrophotometer aborad an S520 sounding rocket, launched at 19:50 JST (10:50 UT) on 14 February, 1982 from Kagoshima, Japan. The altitude variation of the emissions was obtained from 110 to 266 km at zenith angles of 35.5°±4°. The emission intensity around 260 km was about 160R and is roughly compatible with model calculations taking account of O⁺+e ^– radiative recombination as well as O⁺–O^– mutual neutralization. Some excess of about 50R, compared to the model calculation, was observed around 200 km. Possible explanations of the excess are: (i) remnant oxygen ions during the transition period from day to night and (ii) diffuse radiation from the background sky. Model calculations taking account of remnant oxygen ions were also performed by adding an excess electron density to the original density profile. However, it was found that an unreasonably large electron density is required around 200 km (5×10⁵ cm^–3) to produce the observed intensity. It is also probable that some contribution from the background sky is present in the observed intensity.